Means for accelerating the evacuation of hopper type railway cars



June 5, 1956 L. G. PLANT 2,748,959

MEANS FOR ACCELERATING THE EVACUATION 0F HOPPER TYPE RAILWAY CARS Filed Oct. 15, 1951 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 IN VEN TOR.

June 5, 1956 G. PLANT MEANS FOR ACCELERATING THE EVACUATION OF HOPPER TYPE RAILWAY CARS 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Oct. 15, 1951 INVENTOR.

June 5, 1956 Filed Oct. l5 1951 G. PLANT 2,748,959 MEANS FOR ACCELERATING THE EVACUATION OF HOPPER TYPE RAILWAY CARS 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 IN V EN TOR.

United States Patent MEANS FOR ACCELERATING THE EVACUATION 0F HOPPER TYPE RAILWAY CARS Leland G. Plant, Edenton, N. C.

Application ()etober 15, 1951, Serial No. 251,437

4 Claims. (Cl. 214-643) The invention relates to means for accelerating the evacuation of hopper type railway cars, and more particularly to an improved machine for accomplishing this result which may be readily attached to or detached from the side of a hopper car without manual effort or the use of an overhead crane as a lifting means. The present application is a continuation in part of my application Serial No. 171,107, filed June 29, 1950, and now Patent No. 2,673,651, dated March 30, 1954, entitled Hopper Car Evacuator.

My improved apparatus is of the type that employs an eccentrically weighted rotor shaft revolved rapidly by power means to produce a vibrating motion which is transmitted to the car structure while imparting a rocking motion to the car body upon its springs. With my machine this rocking motion is induced by bracketing the rotor at such a distance from one side of a car as to, exert a torsional leverage thereon. Where it is required to move the machine thru narrow aisles, from car to car (as on the docks where iron ore is discharged from cars forloading into boats) my machine may employ a pivoted member for supporting the rotor shaft whereby the entire mechanism can be confined within narrow limits when moving from car to car or may have its rotor positioned at an eifective distance from the side of a car to which applied when in operation.

in attaching my machine novel power actuated means are provided for clamping it securely to the car structure without the use of bolts or manipulation of any mechanism other than the levers controlling said power means. Modifications devised in this clamping mechanism adapt it for use with cars of either the conventional coal hopper design or ore loading type of various heights. A feature of the clamping mechanism devised for this machine in all of its applications is that with each revolution of the eccentrically weighted rotor an upwardly directed blow is imparted to the car structure alternating with downward and horizontally (inward and outward) directed blows thereon as said rotor is rapidly revolved. Blows directed from below upwardly against the side structure of a car are particularly effective in dislodging the contents of the car from adherence to its sides and floor.

To propel the rotor shaft at high speeds with a mechanism that will withstand the violent vibration to which it is subjected I employ the combination of an eccentri Jilly weighted shaft driven by a fluid type motor having its shaft and Wobbler plate mounted in alignment with the rotor shaft, the two shafts being flexibly coupled at their abutting ends. In the motor a circular group of pistons parallel to its shaft bear upon the Wobbler plate and a rotary valve eccentrically pinned to said shaft admits oil under pressure to the pistons in succession as it releases oil from other pistons oppositely positioned in relation to the motor shaft. The rate at which this motor and the rotor shaft are turned is proportional to the quantity of oil supplied thereto thru flexible 0. .6. an he.

2,748,959 Patented June 5, 1956 pressure at which it is supplied is sufiicient to overcome resistance in the rotor at whatever speed it is turning.

In no prior construction applicable to the purpose of accelerating evacuation of hopper cars by vibrating their structure or by both vibrating and rocking said structure as in my earlier application, Serial No. 171,107, filed June 29, 1950, now Patent No. 2,673,651, can be found the means for attaching and detaching it from subject cars without extraneous lifting apparatus and/or without the manual adjustment of some mechanism for clasping the machine to the car in such manner that at whatever speed its eccentrically weighted rotor is revolving the machine cannot become detached from the car body. No prior mechanism of any sort has been devised to impart vibration to a car structure by means of blows successively directed 1) downwardly thereon, then (2) horizontally (both inwardly and outwardly alternately) and (3) upwardly (either upon the lower edge of the car side or against the flange projecting from its top edge). No other mechanism having an eccentrically weighted rotor rapidly revolved to cause an intense vibration therein which can be imparted to a car structure employs motivating means of; such speed flexibility that its shaft can be coupled directly in alignment with the. rotor shaft or of such rugged design that when thus mounted upon the machine it will not suffer damage from the vibration therein as experienced when electric motors are thus employed. All of these objectives are accomplished by the present. invention as enumerated in the preceding paragraphs. Each of these objectives contribute to the effectiveness and utility of a machine designed to accelerate the evacuation of hopper type railway cars.

In the drawings of this invention:

Fig. 1 shows the side elevation of my machine in its portable. form mounted on a truck equipped with lifting forks on which they base of the machine rests as it is moved from car to car.

Fig. 2v is an, end elevation of the machine as illustrated in Figure 1, except that in this View the lifting forks on which the machine rests are raised so that its hooked shaped arms overhang the top edge of a car as the truck is propelled alongside said car.

Fig 3 is a sectional view of the machine in a plane parallel to the plane of Figure 2, but showing the forks in a lowered position free from the machine which is shown hanging by itshooked arms from the top edge of I the car and supported against its side sill by a pivoted member of the machine which has been rotated by hydraulic power means from the approximately vertical position indicated in Figure 2, to an approximately horizontal position so as to clasp the underside of said sill in a car of the ore handling type and be held rigidly in this posi-. tion by latches.

Fig. 4 shows the end elevation of a modification of my machine in a form adapted to be attached to one side of a conventional type hopper car from a stationary mounting by which it is disengaged when attached to the side of this car.

Fig. 5 shows the end elevation of the same machine as in Figure 4 when retrieved from the car and supported on its stationary mounting at such a distance from the car track as to afiford proper clearance for the movement alignment with a fluid type motor to which said shaft is flexibly coupled, and a diagrammatic representation of the apparatus employed for supplying a controlled quantity of oil under pressure to said motor.

Principal elements shown in these drawings are designated as follows:

1. Hopper car side sill and wall, typical construction for ore handling service.

2. Hopper car side wall, conventional standard type, with an air brake pipe 2a, shown in its customary location on cars of this type.

3. Eccentrically weighted rotor shaft in housing 3a, supported by bearings 3b.

4. Motor, fluid type for propelling rotor shaft 3, thru a flexible coupling 4a, with its shaft 4b (Fig. 7) upon which a bearing race 40 is obliquely mounted and keyed thereto. The opposing bearing race is on one side of a Wobbler plate 4d, against the other side of which plate a circular group of pistons like 4e are thrust in sequence, being thus actuated by oil supplied to the motor under pressure thru pipe 41 when the by-pass valve 4g is closed and released thru pipe 411, admission and release of oil from said pistons in succession being controlled by sliding ports in the disk 4i which is actuated by the motor shaft.

5. Bracket of spring or alloy steel plate for resiliently supporting the motor 4 in substantial alignment with rotor shaft 3, thru rubber cushioned pedestals 5a.

6. Frame of a car evacuating machine (Figs. 1 to 3) comprising side plates designed to engage the top edge of an ore carrying type of hopper car by hook shaped arms resting on a bearing plate 6a, and adapted to be clamped to the side structure 1 by the lower hooked ends of plates 6b in a sub-frame pivotably supported within frame 6 by shaft 60 which rests in hardened end bearing 6d. The upper ends of plates 6b support the rotor bearings 3b in housings 3a, with the rotor 3 extending between these plates. The frame side plates 6 are bracketed together by cross braces 62, 67 and 6g.

7. Frame of the modified form of machine shown in Figs. 4 to 6 comprising side plates designed for attachment to the side wall structure 2 of a conventional hopper type car having an outwardly projecting flange along its top edge. In this design of the machine the hooked arms bear upon the top edge of a car thru bearing plate 7a. The bearing housings 3a are mounted in the side plates of frame 7 on the side thereof farthest from the car to which said plates are attached and the rotor extends between the side plates of the frame 7. Slots 7]: are provided in both side plates of frame 7 and rollers 76 by which the frame is supported when not attached to cars are mounted outside near the foot of each p ate.

8. Hydraulically operated cylinder and piston for tilting the assembly of rotor and plates 6b (Figs. 1 to 3) so that they may either be raised to minimize the width of this machine when moved thru narrow aisles or for lowering the assembly while raising the lower ends of said plates until they clasp the side sill of car 1. Latches 8a are mounted on a trunnion bar 8b, between the two plates 6b, so that as this sub-frame is rotated to a horizontal position the latches may be wedged against the edge of cross bracket 6e.

9. Latch bars employed with the frame plates 7 (Figs. 4 to 6), connected at their lower ends by a cross bar 9a, thru the slots 7b, and an hydraulic cylinder 9b which draws their lower ends upward as guided by the slots 7b, or releases these bars from contact with underside of the car flange by reversing movement of the piston in said cylinder 10. Turntable (Figs. 1 to 3) with its center pin bearing in the bottom cross brace 6g, permitting the machine frame to be revolved when resting on. the ground so that its hooked arms may be turned to engage cars on either side of an aisle in which the machine is operating without turning the truck on which it is mounted.

11. Truck (Figs. 1 to 3) with lifting forks 11a, spaced so as to engage and support the sides of frame 6, and raise or lower it by an hydraulic elevator 11!), supplied with oil under pressure from a pump 11c, driven by an engine E that propels the truck. A pump 11d of larger capacity but also powered by engine E, as diagrammatically indicated, supplies oil under pressure thru pipe 4f to the motor 4, when by-pass valve 4g is closed, and oil released therefrom thru pipe 4/1 is returned to a pump supply reservoir 112.

12. Electric motor (Figs. 4 to 6) for driving pumps 11c and 11d in an installation where the pump and oil reservoir 112 are stationarily mounted on a base 12a, oil from the smaller pump being supplied to an hydraulic cylinder 12!) for actuating the arms 12c on which the machine is supported by the rollers 70 when disengaged from a car and tilted backward to clear the track or tilted forward so as to engage the side of a car 2, in which position the arms may be dropped free from contact with said frame and rollers by further rotating the trunnion shaft 12d.

The mechanism illustrated in the accompanying drawings with its principal elements as above enumerated is designed to provide either a mobile truck mounted or stationary base mounted unit that can by its own power, in response to the manipulation of finger operated controls by a single operator be attached to or detached from the side of a hopper car; either one to which the mobile unit has been self propelled on the ground to a position alongside the car or a car that has been placed opposite to the base of the stationarily mounted unit. With the mobile unit (Figs. 1 to 3) the procedure is to propel the wheeled truck 11 to a position alongside of a hopper car with the machine frame 6 carried upon the truck forks 11a in a raised position so that the hooked arms of said frame overhang the top edge of this car, then lower said frame until the bearing plate 6a rests upon the top ledge of the car. At this point the elevator 11b is held stationary until the pivoted plates 6!) have been rotated by means of pressure in the hydraulic cylinder 8 until the face of these plates contacts side sill 1. Then the forks 11a are again lowered so that they are clear from any contact with the frame plates 6. Again, by means of the hydraulic cylinder 8, plates 61) are further rotated until their lower hooked ends bear up firmly against the underside of car sill 1. When the pivoted plates 6b are thus positioned the latches 8a are rotated upon their trunnion 8b, manually or by hydraulic power, to contact the edge of cross brace 62 and thus effect a rigid Wedging action between the main frame member 6 and pivoted sub-frame plates 6b in their horizontal position thereby locking these parts in a clamped attachment to the car so that the machine becomes in effect a structurally integral part of the car side wall and sill.

Now by gradually closing the bypass valve 411, as the pump 11d is running, oil under pressure from this pump thru pipe 4 is forced into the fluid motor 4 so as to propel its pistons 4c in sequence, causing the Wobbler plate 4d to oscillate and thus forcing the bearing race 40, obliquely mounted upon and keyed to the motor shaft 4b to rotate, which action is transmitted thru coupling 4a to the eccentrically weighted shaft 3. If, for example, in one revolution of the motor shaft 4b, the displacement of pistons 4e aggregates 4 cubic inches and the pump 11d is designed and operated so as to deliver 30 gallons of oil per minute at a pressure sufficient to force all of this oil thru the motor 4 when the by-pass valve 411 is closed, then it will cause the shaft 3 to rotate at about 1740 revolutions per minute. The centrifugal force generated by revolving an eccentrically weighted shaft is proportional to its weight in pounds, its

eccentric radius in feet and the square Qf'the speed at which it is turning in revolutions per minute. By-increas ing either or both the speed and eccentric radius of this rotor shaft the centrifugal force generated thereby can be greatly increased without adding to its weight and inv my machine the centrifugal force bearing tangentially upon the rotor shaft may far exceed the weight of the machine but by clamping its frame to the car structure as described these forces are expended upon Said structure causing it to both rock and vibrate violently in contrast to the effect of machines having eccentrically weighted rotors that depend upon their Weight When laid across the tops of cars to hold them in this position. In these machines the weight must be increased in relation to the centrifugal force generated and vibration in the car structure is produced solely by pounding downwardly upon the top edges of the car sides.

After the car body has been rocked and its structure vibrated by my machine for the duration required to dislodge all contents from adherence to the side walls and floor, the by-pass valve 4g is opened allowing the motor 4 to stop. The latches 8a are then tipped back to allow plates 6b to be rotated by control of oil flow to cylinder 8 until the foot of plates 6' resume a position in which they can be engaged by elevating forks 11a. When thus engaged the plates 6b are further rotated until this sub-frame is in an approximately vertical position. Then the forks 11a are further elevated to raise the plates 6 so that their hooked arms and plate 611 will clear the top edge of the car, allowing truck 11 bearing the machine on its forks 11a to move to another car. If operating in a narrow aisle between two rows of cars and it is desired to operate on a car across the aisle from one just serviced the forks 11a can be lowered until the turntable 10 rests upon the ground and the forks 11a lie clear of the frame plates 6, in which position the machine can be rotated 180 degrees and again lifted by the forks 11a in this reversed position. To facilitate this operation the pipes 47'' and 4h, as well as the other pipe connections to hydraulic cylinder 8 may be of flexible hydraulic hose capable of withstanding high pressures. Aside from the facility with which this machine can be operated by one man alone, its narrow width when moving from car to car enables it to service strings of cars standing on tracks with such limited side clearance that machines of no other design now available with an eccentrically weighted rotor on a self propelled mounting can be used unless suspended from an overhead crane constructed at great expense to span the tracks.

Where this machine is stationarily mounted (Figs. 4 to 6) the operation in its effect upon the car is generally similar in principle to that previously described except that the car must be placed in a position on the track opposite to the base 12:: which may be located at the edge at the edge of an unloading hopper into which the contents of all cars serviced by the machine is dumped. When not in use the frame plates 7 rest upon the rollers 7c, supported on arms 12c, in a position clear of the track (Fig. 5). To apply the machine to a car spotted opposite its base 12a the hydraulic cylinder 12 is actuated by control valves so as to turn the trunnion shaft 12a and rotate the arms 12c downwards. This pitches the frame plates 7 forward until they strike the top edge of the car and then allows these plates to gradually fall until their hooked arms with bearing plate 7a engage the top edge of the car. Continued downward rotation of the arms 120 allows the lower part of frame plates 7 to slide forward until they rest against the side of the car after which the arms 120 are further rotated until they are free from any contact with the rollers 7c and/ or plates 7. In this position of the frame plates the lower ends of latch bars 9 are at the farthest distance from the hydraulic cylinder 9b permitted by the slots 7a and bar 9:: connec ing heir n s a d h pper nds f s idb rs are resting against the side wall structure 2 of a hopper car. By actuating the hydraulic cylinder 912 so as to draw the bar 9:: and lower ends of bars 9 toward the cylinder as directed by the slots 7a, the upper ends of these bars are forced tightly against the underside of the outwardly projecting flange of the side wall structure 2, so as to clamp the frame plates firmly to the car (Fig. 4).

Operation of the eccentrically weighted shaft of rotor 3 in this arrangement of the machine is the same as previously described, the upward thrust in this arrangement being transmitted to the side wall structure 2 of a hopper car thru the bars 9. When all the contents of the car is dislodged by a rocking motion of the car body induced by centrifugal forces tangentially exerted in a vertical direction (upward and downward) and also horizontally as the rotor is rapidly revolved, and by the vibration caused, which motion is transmitted horizontally against the side structure 2, and vertically upon the outwardly projecting flange at the top edge of the car, the rotor 3 is stopped and frame 7 released from its grip upon the car flange by actuating the hydraulic cylinder 9 b so as to lower the latch bars 9 in slots 7b. Upward rotation of the arms 12c by actuating hydraulic cylinder 12b thru trunnion shaft 12d then brings these arms into contact with the two rollers that are nearest to the trunnion shaft, first forcing the frame 7 upwards against the side of the car until the other pair of rollers 7c is engaged by arms 120. Further upward rotation of these arms i2c both raises and tilts the frame plates 7 backwards, causing the frame to roll backward upon arms 12c toward the trunnion 12d and resulting in a final elevation of the machine in a position affording requisite clearance for the movement of cars on the track adjacent base 12a.

For this invention I claim:

1. A hopper car evacuator comprising a main frame having an upper hook portion adapted for attachment to the top of one side of the hopper car to support the evacuator therefrom, a rotor-carrying sub-frame pivoted to the main frame at a point substantially below the hook portion and adapted to be swung about said pivot to a generally upright inoperative position to reduce the combined horizontal width of the two frames, and adapted to be swung outwardly to a generally horizontal operative position when the evacuator is suspended from the side of the car, said pivoted sub-frame having an extremity adapted to engage the side of the car at substantially its underframe or floor level when the sub-frame is in operative position, and an unbalanced rotor mounted in the subframe adjacent the opposite end of the sub-frame from the car engaging extremity.

2. A hopper car evacuator comprising a mobile carrier unit adapted to be moved from car to car, a main frame carried by the mobile unit and adapted to be raised or lowered with reference to the carrier unit, said main frame having an upper hook portion adapted for attachment to the top of one side of the hopper car to suspend the frame therefrom, a rotor-carrying sub-frame pivoted to the main frame at a point substantially below the hook portion and adapted to be swung about said pivot to a generally upright inoperative position to reduce the over-all width of both frames as the carrier unit is moved from car to car, and adapted to be swung outwardly to an operative generally horizontal position when the main frame is suspended from the side of the car, said pivoted sub-frame having an extremity adapted to engage the side of the car at substantially its underframe level when the subframe is in operative position, and an unbalanced rotor mounted in a portion of the sub-frame on the opposite attachment to the top of one side of the hopper car to suspend the frame therefrom, rotor-carrying bulfer plates pivoted to the side plates at a point substantially below their hook portions and adapted to be swung about said pivot to a generally upright inoperative position to reduce the overall width of the evacuator as the carrier unit is moved from car to car, and adapted to be swung to a generally horizontal operative position when the evacuator is suspended from the side of the car, said pivoted buffer plates having extremities adapted to bear against the side of the car at substantially its underframc level when the evacuator is in operative position, and an unbalanced rotor mounted between said buffer plates on the opposite side of the pivot point from their car con tacting extremities.

4. An evacuator for hopper cars comprising a mobile carrier unit having power means for propelling it to selected positions alongside said cars, a main frame carried by said mobile carrier unit adapted to be raised and lowered with reference to the carrier unit and provided with a hook portion for suspending the frame from the top of one side of a hopper car, a rotor-carrying sub-frame pivoted to the main frame, and an unbalanced rotor carried by said pivoted subframe at a point substantially removed from the pivot, said pivoted arrangement permitting the sub-frame to assume an approximately vertical inoperative position to reduce the combined horizontal width of the two frames as the unit is motivated from car to car, and to be swung into an approximately horizontal operative position with the rotor on the side of the pivot of said sub-frame most remote from the car and the extremity of said sub-frame on the opposite side of the pivot from the rotor engaging the underside of the car sill while the main frame hangs upon the top edge of the car, in such manner that the sub-frame and said main frame constitute jaws held tightly in contact upon the side structure of the hopper car while said rotor is rapidly rotated to produce a vibrating motion in the car structure to which it is thus clamped.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 833,761 Stevens Oct. 23, 1906 1.908,104 Bell May 9, 1933 2,032,934 Horsch Mar. 3, 1936 2,060,130 Scott Nov. 10, 1936 2,185,850 Jackson Jan. 2, 1940 2,471,849 Wallace May 31, 1949 2,494,584 Rouse Jan. 17, 1950 2,621,813 Bauerle et al Dec. 16, 1952 

